Recently, there has been an increased interest in the tailored development of certain classes of polymers, such as electrically conductive and optically active polymers (e.g. polythiophene, polypyrrole, and polyaniline) for application to wider ranges of use. Examples of such uses include light-weight energy storage devices, electrolytic capacitors, anti-static and anti-corrosive coatings for smart windows, and biological sensors. However, the potential applications of these polymers have been limited by some fundamental properties of the monomers employed to form these polymers and by limitations of known polymerization techniques.
Electrically conductive and optically active polymers are relatively insoluble in water. Therefore, these polymers are typically formed in an organic solvent. Attempts to increase the water solubility of these polymers have included derivatization of the monomer before polymerization or the resulting polymer formed. However, derivatization of monomers typically slows polymerization, while derivatization of polymers generally causes some degradation.
Moreover, the physical properties of polymeric materials generally can be manipulated only by mechanical means such as extrusion, or by polarization of relatively short polymers or oligomers in an electric field. Further, the existing synthetic methods of forming polymers generally do not provide means for manipulating their shape during polymerization.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome or minimize the above-referenced problems associated with polymer synthesis.